Albus Potter and The Guardian Of Ephesus
by Princess Aishwarya
Summary: ALbus Potter's first year at Hogwarts turns upside down due to the arrival of dangerous creatures at Hogwarts.Review if you like it.


**ALBUS POTTER  
AND THE GURDIAN OF EPHESUS**

1.

**The Journey to Hogwarts**

Albus and Rose waved to their parents until their last, fleeting view was gone. They searched for a compartment. All compartments were occupied, except for one, in which a small girl was sitting near the window. Rose asked her tentatively whether they could sit there. The girl looked up, and nodded. They sat down and striked up a conversation about what they would do once they reached Hogwarts. The girl was looking at the window, but Rose and Albus could tell that she was listening keenly to their conversation.

Rose asked the girl, "What is your name?"

"Jane", she replied.

"What are you thinking of doing once we reach Hogwarts?" asked Albus.

"I am Muggle-born, so I don't exactly know how Hogwarts is", she said.

"We will tell you about it. Anyway, we have a long journey in front of us, Dad told me", said Rose.

Rose told Jane about the Great Hall, about how the ceiling showed the sky, how there were floating candles and about the moving staircases. Jane seemed awed by all of this. When Albus told her that his father's name was Harry Potter, she became paralyzed for a moment.

"What?" demanded Albus.

"Did you just say that your father is Harry Potter?"

"Yeah, what about that?"

"Because Harry Potter is the name of the person who defeated the dark wizard Voldemort, isn't he? I heard a few children talking about it on my way here. Is your father the same one?" Jane asked.

"Well, yes.", said Rose.

"Who is your father?", Jane demanded.

"Ronald Weasly", she said.

"And he helped my father defeat Voldemort", said Albus.

"And so did my mother, Hermoine Granger", reminded Rose.

"Wow, you come from the most famous families, I wish I could be in your place", said Jane.

"Why don't you join in our group?", asked Albus.

"Me? But I'm just a normal girl, people will expect you to have cooler friends than Me.", said Jane sadly.

"You are cool. My father also had friends like you, who were normal but became famous with him. Our Herbology professor, who is Neville Longbottom, is also a good friend of my father's.", said Albus.

"And even Luna Lovegood, my mother is on good terms with her. She has now become a leading naturalist, and her name is very famous in the wizarding world." , said Rose.

They kept discussing their families until the Lady who moved the lunch trolley came trotting to their compartment. "Anything out of the trolley, my dears?, she asked . Albus, Rose and Jane took some Bertie borts beans, Pumpkin pasties and Chocolate frogs. After sometime, James came to their compartment to see Albus.

"What do you want?", asked Albus nervously, his brother had always humiliated him in front of friends.

"Mum told me to give you this", he said, giving him a packet.

"What is it?", asked Rose.

"A gift for Hagrid, but I don't exactly know what it is", said James.

"I can't wait to see Hagrid.", said Albus eagerly."Dad told me he is half-giant.", he added.

Jane's splutter was, as Albus thought, at the thought of meeting a half-giant. But he didn't know what her reaction would be when she saw Grawp, but didn't want to scare Jane.

"Well, I'd better be going.", said James, and went to join his friends. Albus felt a twinge of annoyance as he walked away. He was the eldest, and as he had come to Hogwarts before him, had a large circle of friends. He had been brought a snowy owl as his birthday present, but his parents had told Albus that he would get an owl when he would reach his second year. Albus remembered throwing a big tantrum at this, telling his parents that he was old enough to manage an owl. So lost was he in his thoughts, that he didn't notice Rose and Jane take out their trunks. Rose had a brownish-black owl, which had been sent to Hogwarts already, by Ron, because he knew the difficulties of carrying an owl in the Hogwarts express.

Albus hurriedly changed into his school robes and took out his trunk. A prefect came in and announced that they would be reaching Hogwarts shortly. They peeped into the windows and saw the tall trees of the Forbidden forest.

Soon, they reached Hogsmeade station. As soon as the train came to an halt, there was a lot of scuffling outside as children came out of their compartments. Albus, Rose and Jane came out of their compartment and got down at the could see James getting in the carriage, he was a third-year anyway. They saw a huge mass calling out to them in a booming voice, "First-years follow me!". Albus, Rose and Jane joined the line. Now they could see the huge mass properly. He was the most huge man they had ever seen, and he had bushy hair and a beard. When they reached him, he looked at Albus and said, "You look very much like your father."

"Yeah, I've been told. But who are you?", asked Albus.

"I'm Rubeus Hagrid. Didn't yer father tell you about me?", he asked.

"Oh! So you are Hagrid!", Albus exclaimed."Aren't you the Care of Magical Creatures professor?"

"S'right. But you want be able ter take my classes until you're a third-year. How's Harry?" he added.

"Dad's fine. He told me you've invited me to tea next Friday. You know Rose, right?", asked Albus.

"Know Ro—of course I know Rosie! But I didn't recognize your little friend here", he pointed at Jane.

"She's our friend Jane. We met her in the train", said Rose.

"Come on now.", said Hagrid.

They followed him to the little boats near the lake. They climbed on to one of the boats, and the boat started off on its own. As they were able to see Hogwarts, Jane exclaimed," Look! Isn't it wonderful?"

Hogwarts looked as same as ever. The small lights coming out of the rooms made it look more beautiful. They were gazing at it so intently that they didn't hear Hagrid shouting at them telling them to get out of their boats and form a line. Hagrid came over to their boat and shouted in Rose's ear, who jumped and brought all of them out of their trance. They sheepishly joined the line of the first-years.

2.

The Sorting Hat

They entered the castle and passed through the entrance hall; everyone seemed to have reached the great hall and were waiting for the first years to arrive and be sorted. They reached a flight of steps and at the very height of the steps stood a man in a pointed hat.

"You may go now, Hagrid", said the man whom Albus recognized as Neville Longbottom, the Herbology Professor. He now addressed the scared looking first-years, "Welcome to Hogwarts. You will now be taken to the sorting ceremony, where you will be sorted into your respective houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. While you stay at Hogwarts, your house will be something like a family to you. Your good deeds will earn you house points, and any rule-breaking will lose you house points. Now if you'll all follow me please."

He led them to the Great Hall. As soon as the doors opened, there was an outbreak of 'Ooohs' from the first years. Rose whispered to Jane, "See, I told you the ceiling looked like the sky and there are all floating candles here". They walked until they reached the very end of the Hall and then came to a halt. A hat, which had a weathered look, was peeping up at them. There was a moment's silence, then the Hat broke into a song-

_Oh you may not think me pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the __Hogwarts__ Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be._

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin.  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap! 

An outbreak of applause followed the song and died off almost immediately. Professor McGonagall got up and addressed everyone, "Welcome to Hogwarts! You will now be sorted into your houses, and must come forwards when I call your name."

'Vance, Lary'

'RAVENCLAW!'

'Kondell, Horgane'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'Abbott, Lucy'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

It went on like this for some time. More children were called and sorted into their houses. At length, their name was called.

'Potter, Albus'

There was an outbreak of whispering in the Hall when McGonagall called his name. When he sat on the stool and the hat was placed in front of him, he could see James winking at him from the Gryffindor table.

As soon as the hat was placed on his head, the noise from the Hall became lower. He could hear the serene voice of the hat talking to him.

'Hmm...difficult. Very difficult. Brave enough to go to Gryffindor, but cunning enough for Slytherin. Your father went into Gryffindor even though I thought he was better enough for Slytherin.'

Albus was barely listening to what the hat was saying, he was only thinking of one thing, 'Not Slytherin, anything other than Slytherin…'

'Not Slytherin, eh? You are going the same way like your father. Well, no matter. I know just where to put you. 'GRYFFINDOR', he shouted to the room at large, and all the children sitting in the Gryffindor table roared with happiness. Albus shakily went to the Gryffindor table and James patted him on the back. Then he focused his attention on the Sorting again.

'Malfoy, Scorpius'

'RAVENCLAW!'

There was a deep silence after this shout. Nobody had expected Scorpius to go to Ravenclaw. Surely he would be in Slytherin, because Draco had gone in that house and so had Pansy. Nobody clapped this time, and Scorpius trotted off to the Ravenclaw table and the Sorting continued.

'Alexa, Jane'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

Jane went sadly to the Hufflepuff table where the Hufflepuffs were shouting and patting her on the back. She had eyes for no one other than Albus and Rosie.

'Weasly, Rose'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Rose went happily towards the Gryffindor table. More dozen children were sorted, and then the sorting ended. Professor McGonagall got up and silence fell. She said gracefully, "Let the feast begin."

Chops, steaks, treacle tarts, kidney pie and stew and much more appeared out of nowhere and everyone began to gorge at them. Albus was happy that Rose was with him, but Jane had gone to Hufflepuff. Albus deduced that she was not that brave to come to Gryffindor. And she didn't seem that clever or cunning to go to Ravenclaw or Slytherin. He put the thought out of his mind and resolved to talk to Jane later. After the feast, the Gryffindor prefect got up and said, "First-years follow me!". Albus and Rose mouthed a bye to Jane and stood in the line of first-years. The prefect took them above the moving staircases and when they reached the seventh floor, they saw a portrait of a fat lady, who was humming to herself. The prefect went forward and the portrait asked, "Password?", to which the prefect replied, "Tapeworm". She swung forwards to admit them into the room. They entered a room which had a fireplace crackling in one corner and a few sofas were near it. The room was a large, shabby but cosy. The prefect said, "This is the Gryffindor common room. The boys' dormintories are on the up of the spiral staircase on the right side. The girls' dormintories are on the left side. Off you go now".

They went up the spiral staircase and reached the dormintories. Rose waved goodbye and went off into the girls'. Albus opened the door and emerged into the room. There was a kind of stove in the middle, and four-poster beds around the room. Albus chose the one near the window, and was surprised to see a small handwriting scribbled there saying 'Harry Potter'. 'So this was a father's bed', thought Albus. He saw the trunks already assembled there. He took his and put it under the bed and laid down, thinking about the next day when his life would begin at Hogwarts.

3.

The First Lesson

Albus woke up to the sunshine the next day, and felt nervous about the day ahead. He focused his attention on the people sharing the dormintory with him. The boy to his left looked weedy but friendly. The boy on his right was round-bellied and might have looked comical. He couldn't see the others, because they had not drawn their curtains yet. Albus approached the weedy-looking boy, who was half-asleep. He prodded him awake, and tentatively asked his name, merely for the reason that he should have a male companion. The boy looked around at him, half-irritated, half-surprised that a person should wake him up so early in the morning and ask him his name."Horgane. Horgane Kondell. And I take it that you are Albus Potter?", he asked. Albus nodded. Horgane curiously looked in his face. Then he asked, "Did your dad tell you how he defeated You-Know-Who?"

"You can call him Voldemort now" said Albus, irritated, when he gave a slight twitch at the sound of the name. "He's finished. He's not going to come back. Nothing will happen to you if you use his name."

"Its- It's not that. Thing is, he killed my grandparents. I've been scared of him ever since, and cannot shake off the feeling that he will come back." said Horgane nervously.

"Don't be stupid. He won't come back; my dad's seen to that. Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you."

"Leave that. What's the time, anyway?", he asked. Albus glanced at his watch and with a pang of horror saw that they had only half-an-hour to get to the first class, which was Charms. He took out his trunk and dressed and took his books and Dragon-string wand and left with Horgane, only stopping to see whether Rose had woken, and when he saw that she was fully dressed and was waiting for him to wake up. On the way, he filled Rose about Horgane, and told Horgane all about Rose. They skidded to a halt outside the charms classroom, knocked and entered. Most of the Hufflepuffs were already there, and Albus and Rose waved at Jane, who waved back. The three of them sat at the table, and slowly the rest of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs arrived.

"Welcome!" shouted a voice from the table, and it was then that Albus saw a small dwarf-kind of teacher. He was standing on a small pile of books and was looking tremendously excited as he looked around the room to make sure who was there and gave a little gasp when he saw Albus. He then turned his head away from them which Albus understood as a cue that he would speak to him later. He then told the room at large, "I am Professor Flitwick, your Charms teacher. Today we will learn the charm called Wingardium Leviosa. Who can tell me what this charm does?", he had barely completed the sentence when Rose's hand flew to the air. "Very well then, Miss Weasly, go on", he said. "Rose recited at top speed, "It-is-the-charm-that-makes-things-fly-in-the-air". "Very good!", cried Flitwick, "Ten points to Gryffindor! Yes, Wingardium Leviosa makes things fly in the air. The movement is Swish and Flick. We should practice that first." Everyone began to move their wands. "Not so hard, Mr. Finnigan, and for heaven's sake please don't twitch your wands! Just swish and flick. Okay, got it? Now, let's practice it together then. Make the Quill", he flicked his wand and quills appeared in front of them, "fly in the air. Everyone together then. One, Two, THREE!"

The room filled with a chorus of Wingardium Leviosa and nobody except Rose and two Hufflepuffs managed to make the quill twitch a little. After half-an-hour, there was little progress, Albus managed to make his quill airborne for five seconds, and Rose had progressed the most, she was making her quill fly through the air gracefully causing Professor Flitwick to award Gryffindor twenty points. After the class, the three of them (Horgane included) went to the Gryffindor common room to check their timetable and grab their tools once they saw that it was potions. They ran across an offended-looking Jane, who had not at all taken to Horgane being their friend. They waved at her but she only turned her head away from them. Albus felt a guilty conscience which was immediately exchanged with a feeling of anger at Jane. She had no right to decide with whom he should be friends. He was momentarily lost in his thoughts until Rose nudged him in the shoulder and he realized that they had reached the dungeons. They pushed open the door and found all the Slytherins already assembled there. The potions master saw them and a cold smile curved on his lips. "Ten points from Gryffindor for lateness, I think". Albus scowled at him and wondered who this unfriendly teacher was. He had barely thought this when the man said, "I am Professor Granger. Nade Granger. I am related to some great Potioneers, so do not think that I will be overlooking your mistakes. Especially who cheek at me", he indicated at Albus. He felt very warm in his throat and felt like shouting back but his father had told him that some professors will be like that. So he let the matter rest and continued to glower at Granger until he turned away. "Today we will be making the Gadny Basin. Turn over to page 45 to view the ingredients and the procedure. Carry on".

After a quarter of an hour, Albus turned quietly towards Rosie and asked her to do something for his potion, which was looking like liquorice and smelling like rotten eggs. Rose put some of her ingredients in his potion, which immediately changed to pale gold, which was the ideal half-way stage. Albus muttered his thanks and turned back to his book and saw that now he had to add some ginger powder and stir it counter-clockwise. He followed the instructions and was disappointed when he accidently turned it clockwise and the potion again became like liquorice. Albus couldn't turn to Rose now; Granger was just two tables away. Horgane was muttering incantations over his cauldron, and so was Rose, both seemed to be cleverer than him. He could turn to Horgane, Finnigan's back would prevent Granger from seeing them talking. His whisper was barely audible; he asked Horgane what to do. Horgane did a kind of reversing spell and Albus's potion turned gold again. He muttered thanks again and this time followed the instructions correctly and his potion turned into the pale purple colour which indicated that the potion was finished. He glanced at his watch, only a quarter of an hour was left. Rose had already finished before him, and was chatting with Horgane. When they realized that Albus was listening, however, they stopped talking abruptly and turned away from each other. Albus wondered what they could have been talking about. He turned away bitterly and went to the great hall to have his lunch.

After having a delicious lunch, he went to find Rosie and found her once again chatting with Horgane in the third floor corridor. He went and caught Rosie's hand and pulled her through the crowd in the corridor and marched off with her to the Owlery to write a letter to his family. He saw Hagrid's hut in a distance and resolved to go there afterwards. He could see the outline of the Owlery, and he watched in awe at the tall and magnificent building. He climbed the stairs and pushed open the door.

Thousands of screeches of owls greeted him upon his arrival. He walked carefully, avoiding the owl droppings. He chose a barn owl and sat near a window, took out his schoolbag, removed a parchment and a quill, and began to write. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose taking a packet of owl nuts and giving it to her owl Diana. She then took out a parchment out of her bag and she also began to write. Albus turned his attention to his own letter.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I have been sorted into Gryffindor! Even Rosie and Horgane. Oh, but you don't know who Horgane is. He is my room-mate and looks weedy. I got a friend called Jane in the train, but she got sorted into Hufflepuff. Anyway, my first day here has been wonderful so far. I did well in the classes and Rose helped me out in the Potions class. And I did just as you said. I chose Gryffindor over Slytherin! How is that? And James is rarely seen nowadays, he is always with his friends. Once or twice I got a glimpse of him, but normally, when I see him, he is looking stressed. You can write a letter to him, he is really getting winded up. I hope both of you are fine. Keep sending letters.

Your loving son,

Albus

He read it once again, made sure whether he had written everything, then wrote his house address and rolled it into a tight scroll and tied it to the owl's leg. He saw Rose waiting for him near the door. She had already finished her letter. Albus went out with her into the blazing sunshine.

4.

Hagrid's trouble

The rest of the classes went quickly and they were introduced to their new teachers, Pomona Sprout for Herbology and Tanzania Brown for Transfiguration. When the sun began to set, Albus and Rose hurried off to Hagrid's hut. Once they reached there, Albus knocked on the door twice. There was no reply from within.

"Hagrid! Hagrid! It's us, Albus and Rose! What's happened? Open the door!" shouted Albus.

The door opened to show a weeping Hagrid, holding a table cloth-sized handkerchief in his dustbin-sized hand. He wiped his eyes and gestured them to come inside. They went inside and sat down at the table. They looked around.

The house was small, and had sofas and a bucket of what looked like slimy maggots. They sat down at a table and waited for Hagrid to calm down. After some time, Hagrid seemed to recoil a little, and then asked, "What do you want?"

"We just wanted to see you. What's happened to you? Why were you moaning and weeping at the door? Are you alright?" said Albus.

Hagrid gave a tiny, stiff nod. He turned towards the bucket, and suddenly burst into loud tears. Albus and Rose jumped from their seats and went and patted Hagrid. He looked around at them and said heavily, "You must go back ter the castle. It's not safe 'ere. Go!"

"What's happened?" repeated Albus. Hagrid looked deeply troubled. He said, "Look at those things" pointing towards the bucket. "What's so dangerous about that? They just look like maggots" said Rose. Hagrid shoke his head impatiently and said, "They are not just maggots. They grow up rapidly and become highly dangerous creatures called Rakes. They eat up anything they see. I had no idea what they were when I saw 'em. I just reached home after buying 'em, and I noticed a letter in the basket I brought them in. It said that they are Rakes and I must have been eaten up by the time you read this letter. I looked up Rakes in my book and found 'em. I was just planning ter just leave them in the forest, but they've got the scent of this place and will come back at first opportunity. So, I will vacate the place temporarily and stay in the castle for some time. By which time, the Rakes would have eaten my cottage, I think" he reflected sadly.

Albus seemed struck by the words he had just heard. His brain seemed to go fuzzy, instantly replaced by the wise thought to go to Professor McGonagall and tell her what had happened. He dashed to the door, Rose at his heels. They ran up to the castle and just reached the Gargoyle which protected the way to the Headmistress's office, when they realized that they didn't know the password. Albus indicated to a teacher to Rose, who was coming round the corner, apparently visiting the Headmistress. The both of them hid behind a wall and heard him say 'toffee éclairs' to the Gargoyle which leapt aside immediately. They waited for two minutes, and as soon as the teacher came out again, they went and told 'toffee éclairs' and went on to the spiral staircases. They went and knocked on the door, and a voice said 'Enter'. They went inside and McGonagall looked surprised by their arrival. Albus hesitated for a second, and then blurted out the whole story. McGonagall looked as though she was about to faint. Then she picked herself up and told in a commanding voice, "Tell Hagrid to come here immediately. I shall call the rest of the House teachers and we shall decide what to do. Rakes are highly dangerous creatures, and are strong enough to break the whole castle. We shall put defensive spells around the castle, which may hold them off for some time, but they can break anything-"

They left her in mid-sentence and ran off to call Hagrid. They found Horgane and Jane in the way and looking bewildered at their sight and Rose took both of them in her hands and dashed off with them and Albus followed. They found Hagrid packing his things and told him that McGonagall was calling him. He dashed off without a word leaving all of them rooted on the spot. They slowly followed him into the castle.

5.

The Guardian of Ephesus 

They told a hasty goodbye to Jane and ran off to the common room. Rosie quickly marched off to the library to find out about Rakes while Albus and Horgane saw through the common room window towards Hagrid's cabin. The bucket was clearly visible to them through Horgane's telescope which he had got from his father on his birthday. They could see the transformation in them, when the maggots began to get horns and were turning brownish-grey and began to sprout fire out of the holes which seemed to be their mouths. After ten minutes or so, Professor McGonagall came into the common room requested Albus, Horgane and Rose to come with her. Al dashed off to the library and returned with a horrified-looking Rose; after all she had read about Rakes. McGonagall took them to her office, and addressed Albus. "We have decided to send all the children home for a few weeks. The Ministry has arranged a Floo Network connection to get the children home safely. The Ministry officers of the Department of the Regulation of Magical Creatures will be here in five minutes. I request you to go to the Owlery and send a owl to your parents. Tell them to meet me here." Al and Rose ran to the Owlery and saw McGonagall giving instructions to Horgane out of the corner of their eye. Albus used a snowy white owl which looked as though she could fly fast, and wrote a hasty letter-

Dad,

Hagrid has bought some creatures called Rakes and they are about to wreck havoc in the castle, according to McGonagall. She requests you to come here fast. Bring Mum also.

Albus

He tied the letter to the owl and exchanged a glance with Rose after which they ran to the Hufflepuff common room. They couldn't get in, but to their great relief, Jane came out just after they reached there. They had a hurried discussion about what they had to do, and ran to the Headmistress's office again. Horgane was already standing beside McGonagall with a man Albus and Rose did not recognize. McGonagall was having a discussion with the other officers, and seizing their chance the four of them got out of the office. They walked slowly past the great hall, and were surprised to see Scorpius running towards them, clearly white-faced. Rose suddenly turned cold and marched off in another direction. Al, who had no grudge against Scorpius, asked, "What do you want?"

"I was just patrolling the grounds when I saw something like a monster coming out of Hagrid's cabin. My cousin Barny was standing right beside it, and had not realized it was there until...until it…" Albus did not require further explanation; the Rakes had already committed their first murder. They comforted Scorpius and told him to go the common room and pack his things. He went without another word. Albus felt sorry for him. After they had reached the common room, he found the same owl he had sent earlier tapping on his dormintory window. He opened the window and let the owl in. It clearly looked exhausted. He gave it some water and removed the parchment tied to his leg. It read-

Dear Al,

It's wonderful that you have been sorted into Gryffindor. Be good with your friends. You really seem to be popular. We have also written a letter to James, don't worry about him. Good luck.

Dad

His parents had not yet got the news of the fate of the school. He had just come to this uneasy though when the dormintory door opened and Harry and Ginny entered. Ginny ran and hugged her son. Harry removed his travelling cloak, put it on Al's bed and looked around the familiar room. After that he focused his attention on Al and said, "McGonagall has just told us everything. You should come home with us. We have done all we could do to protect the school from serious harm, and-"he addressed Rose, who had just entered the room, "Hermoine and Ron will be here any second."

"I shall pack my bag right away", he said, and took his robes, parchment, books and quills and put them inside his trunk.

"I'm ready" he said, soon after he finished packing. They swept through the room, avoiding the gaze of the people who were starting to gaze at Harry. Just as they reached the portrait of the fat lady, Ron and Hermoine came inside. They greeted Harry and Ginny, and Hermoine hugged Albus and Rose.

"I think we better meet Neville also, just to say hello", said Ron. Harry, Ginny and Hermoine agreed. They moved towards the greenhouses, and saw Neville packing all his things. As they reached him, he looked up and motioned towards some seats. After he had finished packing, he went up to them and said, "So what is the news at home? How's Lily? It's so stupid, just the first day back, and we have to pack up and go home again until the Rakes are fully under control. It's a good thing Al and Rose informed us moments before they had fully grown up" he said, nodding his appreciation towards Albus and Rose.

"Lily's fine. We just came to say hello, I think we better get going if you are busy. You can come and visit anytime , because it will be a long time until all of them are under control." said Harry.

He had just finished his sentence when a loud roar came from outside, and all of them jumped. They saw through the glass windows, something huge and monstrous was coming towards the greenhouses. They ran towards the fireplace, Neville taking his things using a hover charm, and all of them shouted "No. 5, Ottery St. Catchpole!"

They whizzed through all the sceneries and landed in Harry and Ginny's bedroom's fireplace. They shook off the dust from themselves as they straightened up.

"I just saw this place day before yesterday, and now I come back from Hogwarts after learning only a single thing in all subjects!"

"Calm down, dear", said Ginny, "You will go back very soon, it was so brave of you to inform McGonagall at once. It will take a bit of time for the officers to control the Rakes, but you can be sure that they will ", she assured.

"Yeah, I..", Albus's voice broke at the end of his sentence. He had really been looking forward to his first year and it had started with a catastrophe. He felt angry towards Hagrid a bit, and felt that he should have checked what he was buying before buying it. As though he had read Albus's mind, Harry said, "Don't blame Hagrid. He hasn't changed much, as he?", he added to Ron and Hermoine, who grinned. "It was the same last time. He smuggled dragon egg in our first year", said Ron, to an awestruck Rose.

They continued chatting about Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermoine's life at Hogwarts till evening. At last Harry got up and said, "I think I should talk to McGonagall and ask her about the condition now".

"Can I come too?" said Albus.

"If you want to"

"Thanks Dad"

The two of them went up the stairs to Harry and Ginny's bedroom from where the contacted McGonagall through the fireplace. Albus was finding it a bit uncomfortable to kneel on the floor, and was hardly able to keep track of the conversation between Harry and McGonagall. Soon, Harry said 'Thanks' to Professor McGonagall and Albus heaved a sigh of relief and stepped back from the fire. Harry went down to the room and grabbed a piece of cake from the plate and ate it wearily.

Albus went to Lily's room to find her sleeping soundly. Albus thought, 'Let her years at Hogwarts be safe from these kinds of creatures'. Lily just slept on soundly. Albus went back to the hall but just before he entered the room, he saw all the adults sending Rose and James to some other room and conversing in secret. Albus took out a flesh piece of string commonly known as extendable ears and put them under the closed door and now could hear what they were talking clearly.

'I think I would better be going. I don't want my wife to storm at me if I reach home late' said Neville, and took his leave.

'I never thought this kind of a thing might happen. And to think Hagrid is the Care of Magical creatures teacher!' exclaimed Ron.

'He probably might have been sort of drunk and not realized what he was buying' interjected Hermoine.

'I agree with her' said Harry. 'Hagrid wouldn't bring such creatures into the school on his own will'.

'And so do I' said Ginny. 'Actually, these creatures are supposed to be under the care of the guardian of Ephesus, it shocks me to find out that they are in England!'

'How do you know that?' asked Ron.

'I have travelled around the world during my Quidditch World Cup, Ron' said Ginny, somewhat in an irritated tone.

'Now, I really think we should go back to the school and help. I mean, the officers will probably arrest Hagrid for his blunder!' said Hermoine.

'I don't think we can, Hermoine. They have blocked all entrances to the school. And don't worry about Hagrid, McGonagall said he's safe' said Harry in a reassuring tone.

'How much time is estimated to elapse before the school is reopened?' asked Ginny.

'It depends. And who is this Guardian of Ephesus?' asked Harry.

'He is a powerful wizard, I call him that, because he has a head of a man, atleast, but the rest of his body is composed of all creatures which are supposed to be dangerous. He can think like a human, though, and that is why the ministry appointed him to look after the Rakes. No wizard can accomplish the feat of looking after rakes on their own. I think that someone probably smuggled some of the eggs and sold it to his enemy, and then the enemy realized that they were Rake eggs, and got rid of them by selling it to Hagrid'.

'Now that is a good explanation of the things going on' said Harry.

'I quite agree. And the ministry will probably be sending them back to the Guardian of Ephesus once they gain control over them' said Hermione.

Albus felt that if he was discovered, he would be in big trouble. He left the room and went to his room and stared at the ceiling.

'So this is where these hideous creatures came from' he thought. 'And probably this Guardian of Ephesus has let them loose. But wait a minute, Mom said that somebody smuggled the eggs of Rakes. I think that I should hear more of the conversation afterwards' he thought, and slept off.

Soon he woke up and, remembering his conquest, ran to the hall room. He was unlucky, however, as Harry spotted him opening the door just in time.

'I think we should leave this matter for the past and sleep' said he, glancing at his watch.

As Ron stifled a yawn and got up to leave, Harry pushed him down forcefully. 'You are going to be staying here for the night, or I'll kill you. See the time, it's almost nine. You cannot go home in this dark'.

'Harry's got a point. You can use our room, I shall sleep in Lily's room, and Harry can take Albus's' said Ginny.

'Well, okay then. Good night'

'Good night'

The four retired to their rooms, and Harry took Albus by the hand as they passed him. Albus was sure he was going to get a good scolding; he wasn't supposed to be listening to their talk.

'And now' said Harry, as they reached the room and closed the door, 'what did you hear?'

'Nothing' lied Albus.

'I know you were listening before I caught you, Albus. Tell the truth. What do you know?'

'Just some bluff about that guardian of Ephesus'

Harry turned pale. Albus looked up and seeing the look on his father's face, hurriedly continued, 'I'm not going to go hunting for him, or anything of that sort. Don't get worried, Dad, I won't be going in the footsteps of death chasing those creatures back to their dangerous caretaker'.

'I hope you keep your promise. Those rakes are creatures only the Ministry of magic should handle. Now let's sleep, I am feeling too drowsy after all this' said Harry, and curling up on his bed, fell asleep almost immediately.

****************************

6.

Return to Hogwarts

The next few weeks passed in a blink of an eye. Albus was growing impatient over each passing day, and wanted to get back as quickly as possible. The year was a fast one, and he didn't want to stay at home on his first year of Hogwarts.

On a bright Monday morning, Albus picked up the daily post and was surprised to find his name on one of the letters. He gave the letter to Ginny and Harry, who beamed at the sight of the letter. They handed it to Albus, who read it and felt a great happiness swelling up in him. It read,

Dear Albus Severus Harry Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that the Rakes have successfully been removed and Hogwarts will be in operation from the next week. We will be glad to see you back at Hogwarts safely again.

With regards,

Prof. McGonagall

'Better pack up everything now. No need of last minute packing. We can go to Hogsmeade and stay in the Three Broomsticks' said Harry.

'What about Lily?' asked Ginny.

'She can come with us. It will cheer her up to see a glimpse of Hogwarts. What time shall we leave?'

'What! We are leaving today?' asked James in surprise, who peeped in at that moment from the door.

'Yes. And Albus, check whether there is a letter for James too' said Harry.

'Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Ginny Potter……ah, here it is' said Albus, flourishing out a letter from the bunch.

Harry took the letter and scanned his eyes through it. 'Same as Albus's letter. Wake Lily. It will give her a great surprise' he said.

'So, pack up everything, kids, and we shall leave at around two' said Ginny.

'I'm not a KID!' said James angrily.

Albus slipped out of the room to avoid the usual battle. He ran to his room, and picked up all his robes, notebooks and potions kit. He stuffed them in his trunk, and dragged it to the door where Harry joined him, weary from the fight downstairs. He waved his wand and the trunk floated towards the living room. They kept in a corner, and Harry marched off to pack his things.

Back downstairs, Albus hastily ate up his breakfast and sat down to watch his favorite program on TV while the others got ready. Lily was so excited that she couldn't even pack her things; at last Ginny had to go up to her room and pack her things for her. After a lot of hustle and bustle, and definitely lots of agreements and disagreements about what to take or what not to take, and that Harry had to remind them more than once that they would be staying there only for a week.

After everything was packed and ready, they swept down towards the lawn where they looked about. Suddenly, in the swish of a wind, a huge red colored bus, came and stopped right in front of them. The conductor looked at them and smiled. 'Welcome to the Knight Bus! The only help when any witch or wizards are in need of transport. Welcome aboard!'

'You know, you should have retired, Stan' said Harry grimly, scanning the thin scratched and bruises all over his hands and face.

'Ah, old times, old things' said Stan, with an attitude of a person who had just been told a bad word. 'Azkaban is history now for me. Thanks to you, anyway' he added.

'You're welcome. Now, if you have the pleasure to step aside so that we can come inside' said Harry with a faint grin.

'I forgot' said Stan apologetically. You know... with Harry Potter on board it's something different. You can't remember anything' he said, stepping aside to let the family pass.

It was the most fantastic moment in Albus's life. He had been upon Muggle buses, but never on such a bus that went at top speed and through each narrow road and could squeeze through the littlest space between two buses or cars. At the end of the journey, though it could hardly be called a journey, it lasted only for ten minutes, they reached Hogsmeade. Harry took out all the trunks, mumbled goodbye to Stan and the driver, and went straight to the Three Broomsticks where they got two bedrooms without any difficulty. As it was only two thirty in the afternoon, they roamed around Hogsmeade and reached the bar just before it closed in the night.

7.

The disappearance of Lily

In the morning, they all tramped up to the castle where Lily wasn't allowed first, but upon Harry's insistence they agreed to let her in. The castle was strangely quiet, and Harry and the others went to the Headmistress's office. There they met McGonagall, who explained how the Rakes had been removed. She told them that one of the Rakes still remained in Hogwarts, and the Ministry suspects it to be their leader. However, it won't cause any trouble to the Hogwarts students, as it was in the dungeons. The potions room, therefore, had been shifted to an empty classroom on the third floor.

After a long talk, the family bade goodbye to the headmistress, and went to roam around the castle. Lily was sad on hearing that she could not be able to see the potions classroom, but Harry made it up for her by joining her in a game of Quidditch in the castle grounds. They played for a long time, and at last Harry declared that it was time to return to Hogsmeade. They reached the bar right in time and slept peacefully. Little did they know about the tragic event to happen the next day.

They woke up to a bright sunshine, and Albus was most enthusiastic about going to the Forbidden forest. Harry took Hagrid along with them, who guided them around the forest. As they went deeper into the forest, Hagrid shouted 'GRAWP!' and the earth began to tremble.


End file.
